As nations across the world sanction Russia for its attack on Ukraine, the International Olympics Committee is doing what it can to respond to Russian aggression.
The IOC announced on Monday that it is recommending athletes and officials from Russia and Belarus — one of Russia's few allies during its attack on Ukraine — be excluded from international competition. It also said that if it is not possible to do this, international sports federations and other sports organizers should ensure neither Russian nor Belarusian athletes are able to compete under the name of their home nation, and instead, individual athletes or teams should be considered neutral.
In addition, the IOC withdrew the Olympic Order from Russian President Vladimir Putin, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko and Deputy Chief of Staff Dmitry Kozak.
In the IOC's statement, it said that the Olympic movement works to help bring peace in the world through sport due to the unification ability of athletics. It noted that it does not try to "punish athletes for the decisions of their government if they are not actively participating in them."
However, given that Ukrainian athletes have been prevented from competing due to the attack, the IOC made the decision to recommend Russian and Belarusian athletes not be allowed to compete "to protect the integrity of global sports competitions and for the safety of all the participants."
"The current war in Ukraine, however, puts the Olympic movement in a dilemma," the statement read. "While athletes from Russia and Belarus would be able to continue to participate in sports events, many athletes from Ukraine are prevented from doing so because of the attack on their country."
Will Russia compete in the Paralympics?
The first major international event since the IOC's recommendation is the 2022 Paralympic Winter Games, which starts Friday in Beijing.
The International Paralympic Committee on Wednesday said it would allow athletes from Russia and Belarus to compete as neutrals under the Paralympic flag, but reversed course Thursday after other countries threatened to withdraw from the competition.
IPC president Andrew Parsons told reporters the initial decision led to a "very volatile environment" in the athletes' village and prompted several delegations already in China to say they would pull out if athletes from Russia and Belarus were allowed to compete.
“Yesterday we said we would continue to listen, and that is what we are doing," Parsons said in a release. “In the last 12 hours an overwhelming number of members have been in touch with us and been very open, for which I am grateful. They have told us that if we do not reconsider our decision, it is now likely to have grave consequences for the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games. Multiple NPCs, some of which have been contacted by their governments, teams and athletes, are threatening not to compete.
“Ensuring the safety and security of athletes is of paramount importance to us and the situation in the athlete villages is escalating and has now become untenable."
Parsons made clear the IPC has no qualms with the individual athletes set to compete, saying "You are victims of your governments' actions."
Russia is expected to appeal the ban. The Russian Paralympic Committee released a statement calling the move "illegal" and "completely unfounded, as it clearly contradicts one of the basic principles of the Paralympic family - the apolitical nature of sport for the disabled."
The release goes on to protest that the athletes "have not done anything that in any way can be interpreted as participation in the current political complications."
How will this impact international competitions?
This will not have any impact on North American leagues like the NHL and NBA. Instead, this applies to events that will feature national teams like the World Cup, hockey's World Juniors and world basketball championships, and Russia-based professional teams.
Even still, the IOC is not a governing body for international athletics, and thus the statement, though strict, will not force any other organization to abide by these rules. However, the symbolic gesture and unfolding events seemed to spur action, as a series of governing bodies announced measures beginning within hours of the IOC announcement.
FIFA and UEFA suspended Russia's national and club teams indefinitely, which most immediately will remove Russia from the qualifying process for the 2022 World Cup and see Spartak Moscow kicked out of the UEFA Europa League.
Hockey's world governing body, the IIHF, handed down a similar edict banning national and club teams from Russia and Belarus "until further notice" and said it is pulling the 2023 World Juniors from Russia. Should the sanctions remain in place, Russia and Belarus would not be able to participate in the world championships in Finland in May, among other events.
“The IIHF is not a political entity and cannot influence the decisions being taken over the war in Ukraine,” IIHF president Luc Tardif said in a release. “We nevertheless have a duty of care to all of our members and participants and must therefore do all we can to ensure that we are able to operate our events in a safe environment for all teams taking part in the IIHF World Championship program.”
The International Skating Union also announced that it would follow the IOC recommendations and ban Russian and Belarusian skaters from international competition until further notice. The Russian Olympic Committee had won the most Olympic medals in figure skating, with gold and silver in women's singles and a gold in the team event.
The World Curling Federation also announced it plans to remove Russian teams from the upcoming World Championships.
No. 15 women's singles tennis player Elina Svitolina originally said she would not play her Russian opponent, Anastasia Potapova, in a match on Thursday in Monterrey until the WTA could reach a deal under the recommendations of the IOC. Ukrainian tennis site BTU reported on Tuesday that the arrangements had been met and that the two will face off.
FINA, the International Swimming Federation, announced that it had withdrawn its order to Putin, and added that Russian and Belarusian athletes would be able to compete only as neutral individuals or on neutral teams without any national symbols, colors, flags or anthems.
In addition, FIVB, the International Volleyball Federation, said it will remove the 2022 FIVB Men's World Championship from Russia, where it was set to be held between August and September of this year.
The latest statement from the IOC follows a previous recommendation for all international competitions currently planned to be held in Russia or Belarus to be either relocated or canceled.
